The BAU's new Mascot
by mabelreid
Summary: It was just an ordinary day at Quantico. Until Reid's newest friend escapes into the BAU
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: see my profile**_

Morgan picked up his red coffee mug with the word "Stud," engraved in gold letters. The mug was a gift from a beautiful lawyer he had met in DC. He would remember that night for the rest of his life. He sipped the coffee and reached for the next file folder on top of his stack.

Reid was the only other person in the bullpen. Morgan could see he was engrossed in his work and not paying attention to anything outside the case he was looking at.

Morgan felt something very sharp sink into his sock just above the shoe he wore. He looked down in shock at the small, midnight black kitten that was attempting to climb up his leg. The cat meowed and Morgan yelped.

"What the hell!" He shouted.

Reid whipped his head up and frowned. His partner had disappeared under his desk. _What was the matter with him?_

"Where the hell did this come from?"

Morgan popped up from behind his desk and held up the tiny mewling kitten in his large hands. The cat was twisting around, obviously terrified of the large man holding him.

"Hey… Let her go!" Reid cried.

Reid jumped up and charged at Morgan as if he was a dangerous un-sub holding a classroom full of schoolchildren hostage.

"Reid…"

His young partner snatched the crying kitten from his friend's hands and began petting her. He burbled at the tiny creature as though she were a little baby.

"Did the bad scary man hurt you? Don't worry; I won't let him anywhere near you again."

He glared at Morgan as the cat licked his long fingers with great enthusiasm.

"Have you lost your mind?"

Reid ignored Morgan. He took the kitten back to his desk. "You're supposed to stay in my bag." He scolded the kitten shaking a long finger at the little cat.

The kitten batted a paw at the accusing finger as if it was something to play with. Reid grinned and held the cat to his shoulder. It dug its little claws into his shirt and climbed up into the space between his shoulder blade and neck.

Morgan attempted to speak, but found that his mouth wouldn't work due to utter disbelief. He swallowed hard and finally got out the words. "Are you nuts? You can't keep that thing in here."

"She was supposed to stay in my messenger bag." Reid countered while stroking the cat with his left hand.

"I told her to stay put."

Morgan shook his head as if clearing it of water after swimming. "You told the kitten to stay in the bag and you expect it to _obey_ you?"

"Well yeah… You can train cats."

"So," Morgan was attempting not to laugh. "Do you have a litter box in that bag?"

"Of course not… That would be dumb."

Emily and JJ entered the bullpen at that precise moment. "What's going on?" "My man here found us a mascot." Morgan advised JJ.

"What?"

"Oh… How cute," Emily said.

She reached out and scratched the kitten behind its ears. The kitten began to purr like a little steam engine and kneaded its claws deeper into Reid's shirt.

"Where did you find it?" JJ cooed and reached over from the other side of Reid to pet the cat.

"Are you two as nuts as he is?" Morgan asked.

They ignored him in favor of worshipping the cat. Emily gave Reid a smile that made him go pink in the cheeks.

"What's its name?"

"It's a she and her name's Isis."

"_Isis_!"

"Shut up Morgan," JJ said and Reid beamed at her.

"Where did you get her?"

"I was walking to the train last night. You know it was raining and getting dark. She was huddled in the corner all wet and crying. I couldn't leave her there."

Morgan rolled his eyes and Emily smacked him upside the head. "Leave him alone."

Reid turned his big smile on her as she continued to pet Isis.

"So you had to bring her here today?"

"Bring what," Penelope said, entering the BAU with a huge cup of coffee. "Oh, how cute is that… Where did it come from?"

Garcia stood in front of Reid and reached in to pet the cat that now had three adoring females stroking it. It was purring loud enough to crack the walls. Morgan glared at all of them, while Reid went scarlet from all the second hand attention.

"She's too cute, but I don't think Hotch will let you keep her here." JJ said.

"But I can't leave her all alone in the apartment. What if she gets lonely?'

"Give me a break." Morgan said very loudly over the excited and cooing voices of the women.

Reid glared at his friend just as Hotch walked into the room. "Don't you all have work to do?"

"Um… Hi Hotch," Reid squeaked loudly.

"What _is _that?"

The girls immediately jumped away from Reid as though he had the plague. "Um… this is Isis," Reid decided his shoes were the most interesting thing in the room.

"Isis!"

"Yeah, she's our new mascot." Morgan smirked.

"Reid!"

"Sir… um I found her in the rain last night. She's so small and I couldn't see her mother so I brought her home and I didn't want to leave her alone."

Rossi walked in with a dark blue coffee mug that said FBI in cold letters on the side. "What's with the cat?"

"Reid brought it home." Morgan smirked.

"Okay…" Rossi continued up to his office while the others looked at anything but Hotch who was glowering at Dr. Reid.

"In my office now, and leave the animal here."

Reid gulped and pulled the cat off his shirt.

"I'll take her," Garcia beat the other girls to the small black kitten.

"Okay… so, um she likes to be scratched behind the ears and don't -"

"Reid!"

The young agent followed Hotch up to his office. He stood to one side of the room as Hotch shut the door hard but did not quite slam it. His boss put his brief case on the desk and sat down. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath.

"Reid… What were you thinking?"

"Well," The younger agent gulped at Hotch's stare. "I didn't want her to be alone. I don't know how long she was on the street all by herself and -"

"Reid… I don't have anything against you having a pet. In fact, it's none of my business. However, you snuck her in here. The rules exist for a reason."

"I know sir. I'm really sorry."

"You're going to have to take her home. Or call someone to pick her up."

"Yes sir!"

"One more question Reid."

"Yes sir!"

"What happened to the Reid effect?"

Reid stared in surprise at Hotch "Um… I think it's gone sir. It was only dogs anyway."

"Go take care of your pet."

"Yes sir!"

Reid left the office, "What were you thinking?" He said to himself. Being spared the gas chamber was less stressful in his opinion.

He knew bringing the cat there was wrong, but he couldn't resist the way the cat mewed at him as he was leaving that morning. The poor little thing had seemed so lonely.

He went back to his desk, but the girls and Isis had disappeared.

"If you're looking for the cat - she's with the girls in the break room."

"Why? "

"I don't know kid. They said something about giving her something to eat."

"They shouldn't give her milk. I should go see because cream is better. Maybe there's something else she can have."

"Have fun," Morgan said absently.

Emily and Garcia were huddled next to a table when Reid rushed in. Isis was lapping up something from a saucer. The speed with which the treat disappeared was amazing.

"What did you give her?" Reid demanded. "You shouldn't give her milk. She might be lactose intolerant. Cream is better for cats because it has more fat and less lactose. Maybe we should go down to the cafeteria and -"

"Hey… She's just fine. We gave her some creamer from your personal stash."

"Oh… Well, um why didn't you say so?"

"You were too busy giving us a lecture on lactose intolerant cats, baby cakes."

"Right, so um, where is JJ?"

"She got a call and took off for the bat cave."

Reid stared at Garcia, "The _bat_ cave?"

"Yeah… That's what we call it." Emily explained.

"Oh… Hotch is furious. I need to take Isis home."

"Let her finish her cream. She's really enjoying it."

Reid came closer and began to pet the silky black kitten as it downed the cream at lightening speed. When she was done, she looked up and gave them a pitiable meow.

"No more for you missy," Garcia scolded.

"Stop talking to the animal like it understands you." Morgan said from the doorway.

"How do you know she doesn't," Garcia challenged him. "You just don't like her because you're a dog owner."

"I don't like it because it just tried to claw my leg off."

"No she didn't," Reid defended the cat that was looking at Morgan with her little back arched.

"What's going on?"

Anderson entered the break room and a big smile popped out on his face. "Hey… I just got a kitten too. Who does it belong to?"

"Me," Reid said proudly while glaring at Morgan stepped closer to the table.

"Really… Did you know that they have cat's milk on the market called Catsip?"

Anderson began stroking the cat. She immediately began to purr. Her back went down and so did the fur that was standing on end.

"No! Where can you get it?" Reid said excitedly.

"At the pet stores, I was just there this morning and I got some cat treats. Can I give some to your cat?"

"Yeah… Her name is Isis."

"A beautiful and appropriate name."

"Isis was a goddess in Egyptian mythology. She was the mother of Horus and the sister-wife of Osiris. She had many titles including Mother of the Gods, Lady of Green Crops, The Brilliant one in the Sky, and the Star of the Sea. She was worshipped as the ideal wife and mother, matron of magic and nature. She was the friend of slaves, sinners the down-trodden, and the rich and prosperous."

"So she's everybody friend," Morgan interrupted getting close to Isis who began to arch her back in anger.

"Morgan…"

"Here're the treats." Anderson pulled a box out from under the cabinets.

He opened the box and removed a couple of treats from the box. Isis took the first one from Emily, pouncing on it as if it was a fat juicy mouse.

Morgan took another one from the box and offered it to the car. She hissed at him, the fur on her arched back stood up and she swiped a tiny paw at him.

"Hey! What did I do?"

"You scared her." Reid pushed his hand away.

"She's the one that clawed me. Why are you taking her side?"

He reached out for the kitten again. He yanked his hand back when she tried to bite the tip of his finger.

"Leave her alone." Reid said angrily.

The cat solved the problem by leaping down off the table and running right between Morgan's feet. She disappeared around the corner just as JJ rushed into the break room.

"We've got a bad one in South Carolina. Hotch wants us on the jet now. I'll brief you in the air."

"But -" Reid frantically looked around the floor for the escape cat.

"Come on Reid… We've got a missing child out there."

"I'll find her!" Garcia pushed Reid out the door. "I'll take care of her for you."

The team hurried off for their go bags while Garcia began to scan the bullpen for the fugitive kitten.

"Where did you get to?"

She headed over to Reid's desk, but the kitten wasn't there. The bullpen was half-full, so she couldn't go check under their desks.

"I'll help," Anderson whispered. "I feel like this is my fault."

Garcia gave him a winning smile as they headed up out of the bullpen together. "It's not your fault. Morgan was the one that scared her. _How typical it was for him to make a mess and not clean it up!_"

"Don't worry… We'll find her."

"I hope so! I don't want to be Reid if we don't find her. Hotch will be pissed."

"Then we better find her fast!"


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: see my profile**_

Agent Anderson followed Garcia through the bullpen and back to the break room. The small room was empty he was very happy to see. He watched Garcia take the saucer Isis had been eating from, and rinse it off in the sink. She returned the cream to the refrigerator and wiped up a bit of cream from the table.

"Garcia," He inquired, as she seemed to have forgotten that he was there.

"Oh… Sorry, I was just thinking. I tend to clean like crazy when I have a big problem and there's no computer in sight."

"We need to find Isis!"

"I know, but we also need a plan."

"What kind of plan?" He joined her at the sink as she washed a few dishes in the sink.

"We should profile the cat."

He couldn't help it - he had to laugh. She looked at him with a glare that Morgan would recognize. In fact Morgan would warn Anderson to step back if he were there.

"It's not funny… The guys are always saying that they have to observe the behavior of a un-sub. They talk all the time about precedence, and taking what they've learned about other psycho's, to find the latest sicko."

She put the dish soap under the sink and hung the dishcloth up to dry next to the cabinet. He picked up the white square of cloth she'd left next to the paper towels and dried the dishes.

"I can't argue with that logic. So where do we start?"

She pulled him out of the break room. "We know she's not in here. I thought that since you have a cat, you'd know where she might hide."

He thought hard as they passed through the bullpen and the other agents that were hard at work at their desks. "Well… Tom likes to hide under the bed and behind the entertainment system. I've only had him a short time, but he's got me trained."

They headed down the hallway to the conference room. The blinds had been drawn against the sun. The chairs were all in their usual places. Anderson looked under the table and Garcia went to the small supply closet where there were extra paper, pens, and audiovisual equipment for JJ's presentations for the team.

"Isis…" Garcia whispered. "Geez," She said a bit louder to her partner in crime. "Why am I calling her by her name? She's only had it for one day."

"I find that cats don't respond to names like dogs, but that could just be me."

"That's good to know."

"Not really, it doesn't help us."

The next office they went to was Rossi's office. The cat wasn't there or in Hotch's office. "I'm glad she's not here. Can you imagine trying to get her out from under his desk?"

Anderson looked as relieved as she felt. They headed down the hallway trying not to really panic. It was crazy that a tiny little kitten could get very far without someone seeing her. At least that was Garcia's opinion.

"Come on, let's try the supply closet."

"Can't, it's locked and Strauss' admin is the only one that has the key."

"You're kidding me."

"Nope, haven't you ever tried to get supplies through Marsha?"

"No… She can't be that bad."

Anderson looked at her as if she were someone to be pitied. "Marsha is worse than Strauss. I heard Michaels say that she keeps the key to the supplies taped to the inside of her girdle."

Garcia winced "Okay… No supply closet. I don't want to see Marsha go fishing for that key."

"So what do we do?"

"You're panicking!"

He was striding up and down the hallway in front of JJ's office. "Maybe because we have a fugitive kitten on our hands."

An agent that Garcia didn't recognize, rounded the corner and passed them on her way to the elevators. She looked at both of them like they had two heads.

"Great, now everyone is going to think we're up to something." Anderson complained.

"Like what," Garcia snapped.

"What do you think?"

"Oh, well that's not what's going on. I mean you're a nice guy and everything but -"

"Can we get back to looking for the kitten?" He'd gone pink around the ears.

"Sure," She looked around carefully and went into JJ's office.

The room was very dark except for the light from the hallway. "I hope the cameras are off," Anderson said warily.

"It doesn't matter… I'll edit it later."

"You'll edit it later?"

"Yeah… Never mind that now. Look around quick."

He stood there staring at her with an unreadable expression. "You're a bit scary."

"No… I just protect my family. If Strauss were to find out what was going on, we'd be out the door."

"Thanks, as if I didn't have enough stress."

"Shut the door. I think I found her."

He shut the office door just as Isis shot out from under JJ's desk like her tail was on fire. He scooped up the cat before she could run back under the desk. The cat meowed loudly at her captor.

"Naughty little girl…" Garcia scolded the cat. "You almost got your daddy in big trouble."

"You almost got us in big trouble." Anderson said, as the cat attempted to jump out of his hand.

"No you don't." He held the kitten out to Garcia.

As soon as she took the kitten, Isis stopped trying to get away. She began to purr loudly as Garcia stroked her head.

"What's so special about you?"

"Don't sound so offended. At least she let you pick her up and feed her treats. She really hates Morgan. It's kind of funny actually."

"What now?" He opened the door and checked out the hallway with the air of a secret agent trying to sneak into the hidden lair of a super criminal.

"I'm going to take this little runaway back to my office."

"No one seems to be around out here. You better go now," Anderson advised.

"Thanks for helping me to find her."

"You're welcome."

Anderson disappeared down the hallway to his desk. Garcia took another good look around. The hallway was still deserted.

"Okay… You and I are going to go to my office and we're going to stay out of trouble."

The kitten stretched in her hand and purred like she wasn't the cause of multiple headaches. They made it all the way down to the hallway to her office before the worst thing that could happen, did happen.

---

The BAU Jet was halfway to South Carolina when the team concluded the briefing about their missing child, Sharon Henry.

Hotch was sitting next to Reid who'd put his nose into his case file. "Did you get rid of the cat?" Hotch asked the young profiler.

The urge to lie to his boss was strong, but Hotch would know it was a lie. So he decided to compromise with a little of the truth and a little of a lie. "No… Um, I didn't have time to take her home. Garcia's going to take care of her until we get back."

Hotch didn't look happy at this prospect. "I don't doubt her ability. Strauss better not find out about the cat before you get back. She'll have a fit."

"Yes sir."

Hotch went back to his file. Reid stood up and squeezed out of the seat. "I'll be right back."

The bathroom was the only safe place on the jet to talk, so he let himself in and locked the door behind him. The turbulence was bad and it tossed him into one wall of the room. "Ouch… I hate flying!" He grumbled to the sink.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Garcia's number. It rang and rang and then went to voicemail. Her phone never went to voicemail. This was really bad. She must still be looking for Isis.

He turned and banged his head against the wall. This wasn't happening. If Garcia couldn't find the kitten, Hotch was going to be pissed. A new terrible thought crossed his mind. What if Strauss came across the cat before Garcia was able to find her. Oh… that would get them fired for sure. It wasn't fair of him to get Garcia in trouble. He shouldn't have brought Isis to the BAU. He shouldn't have let her manipulate him. He was the human after all and she was the cat.

He turned on the cold water in the sink. It felt very cool on his hands and his face. He needed to come up with something to tell Hotch about this. It didn't occur to him not to tell his boss that the kitten was loose.

But, it was a bad time. His boss would be concentrating on the case.

Reid wiped his face dry with a very rough paper towel. He needed to get his head back to thinking about the case. Garcia was on her own for now. He'd wait till they landed and then try to call her again. He was about to open the bathroom door when a terrible thought hit him. What if Hotch tried to call Garcia and she didn't answer the phone?

There was nothing to do, he decided. He'd have to go out there and tell his boss that Isis had run away and Garcia was scouring the BAU looking for her. Hotch would be angry, but he wouldn't be able to do anything about it till the case was over. Hopefully, Garcia would have found Isis and everything would be okay.

_What if you're gone for days?_

He decided not to think about that. He threw away the paper towels and straightened his tie. His mother always told him it was better to admit your mistakes and take responsibility. Funny how admitting fault to her was much less scary then facing Hotch.

---

Garcia halted in front of Strauss who was looking at Garcia like she was something you'd find on the bottom of your shoe.

"What's going on?"

Garcia held the kitten behind her back. "Um… nothing ma'am. I was just taking a short break."

"I understand your team has a child abduction."

The Section Chief was nearly tapping her foot in impatience. She wore a light pink suit with matching heels and a string of pearls. Not a blond hair was out of place and she carried a briefcase. She looked annoyed enough to kill Isis with her bare hands.

"Um... Yes ma'am… I was just going back to help."

"I need you back there doing your job, not taking little breaks. The abducted girl is the daughter of a former senator that's a friend of mine and my husband. I want her found alive."

"Yes ma'am…"

Garcia took a step past the Section Chief as she headed to an office down the hall. She attempted to hide the cat under her tunic blouse as Strauss passed her, but the cat hissed and growled. Strauss stopped and turned slowly around to stare at Garcia with the cat in her hands.

"What is that?" Strauss shouted and Garcia froze. Now what was she going to do?


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: see my profile**_

**_A/n many thanks for REIDFANATIC and Tearbos for being such great sounding boards for this story. Thanks to all my readers for your reviews and support. You're the best._ **

"What's that," The section Chief shouted.

"It's a cat, ma'am." Garcia said in a shaky tone.

"I know that," Strauss snapped.

Garcia swallowed and tightened her grip on Isis who was struggling to get out of her hands. The cat had her eyes on Strauss and was hissing and growling at her.

The Section Chief backed away from the cat as though the tiny kitten were rigged with explosives. "Where did it come from?"

"She won't hurt you ma'am." Garcia said, taking a step toward the now shaking Erin Strauss.

"Keep that ugly little thing away from me. I hate cats."

"She's very gentle ma'am."

Strauss had backed into the opposite wall of the hallway. Her chest was heaving and her eyes were blazing with anger. There was desperate fear down inside them too.

"I said I hate cats! Get rid of it or you're fired!"

"Excuse me ma'am, but employees of the Bureau can't be fired without cause. As far as I know, there's no regulation that says agents can't have pets in the building. If you'd like, I can tell the director why you've become so agitated. I'm sure he'd be willing to send you home on medical leave."

Strauss never took her eyes off the cat. She stood up as straight as she could and said coldly, "Blackmail is illegal."

"Why ma'am, I'm not trying to blackmail you. There's no reason why Isis can't stay in my computer room. I'll make sure she stays there. Then you won't have to mention this to HR and have them fire me."

Strauss's face was a splotchy red and white color. She looked like someone had done a very bad job applying sunscreen before a whole day out in the hot sun.

"I have a very important meeting. I don't have time to discuss proper protocol with you." She spat out at the tech.

"Yes ma'am," Garcia agreed meekly. "Shall I go back to my desk?"

"Yes!" Strauss said through gritted teeth. "I don't have to tell you to keep this to yourself."

"No ma'am."

Strauss hurried away, giving Garcia and Isis who was still hissing, a very wide berth. Garcia went back to her office, shut the door, locked it and began to laugh. Tears were running down her face before she was able to get control of her laughter.

Isis was very calm. She purred loudly as Garcia sat in her chair and stroked her head between her ears. "Who knew the wicked witch of the east was afraid of cats." Garcia stroked the cat's back near her tail. "Good girl!"

Isis meowed and then yawned as if scaring off bullying Section Chiefs was all in a days work.

"Okay… Now where am I going to keep you where you can't escape?"

Garcia began to peruse her domain. "This place wasn't set up for runaway kittens." She told Isis who'd gone back to purring loud enough to shatter crystal.

"But," she spotted an empty cardboard box in the corner she been meaning to haul to the garbage. It had contained several stacks of computer paper. It was significantly taller than the kitten so Miss Isis wouldn't be able to jump out and go for another stroll around the Bureau.

"There we go," She said to the kitten who was kneading her little claws into Garcia's hot pink tunic blouse.

She pulled the box over to rest next to her chair and put the small cat in side. The cat looked around, its dark green eyes surveying her new home with keen interest. She looked up at Garcia and meowed.

"You have to stay in there little one. We can't have you wandering off again. I swear you're as bad as your daddy. He likes to wander off and get into trouble too."

Garcia shook her finger and the cat meowed as if to say that Garcia was wrong about both of them.

"It's true, now to make things a bit more comfortable for you."

The phone rang impatiently as she pulled some computer paper out of her bottom desk drawer. "Penelope Garcia, this better be good."

"_Garcia?"_

"Oh hi boss man… What can I do for you?" She said brightly.

"_Are you ok?"_

"Yes sir… Did you need something?"

"_Yes, I need you to check into Jackson Henry's life. I want to know everything there is to know about him."_

"Okay, but it'll take awhile boss man. Former Senators have heavy privacy seals on their records."

"_You can do it?"_

"Of course I can, it'll just take some time sir."

"_Do what you have to do Garcia. I don't want to know the details, just find me everything you can." _

"Just leave it to me boss man." She clicked off the phone and set about chasing down Jackson Henry.

She was several minutes into the search when Isis meowed loudly behind her, making her jump and scream. "Jeez… I forgot you were in here."

She looked down in the box and saw that the cat had stood on her hind legs and was scratching at the cardboard indignantly.

"Oh no you don't," Garcia scolded. "You have to stay there till Daddy gets back or it's time to go home."

The cat meowed in a pitiful way that made Garcia's heart melt. "Okay, let's see if we can find something for you to play with," She rummaged through her desk, coming up empty handed while the cat cried.

"I have an idea." Garcia said, crumpling up some notepaper into a little ball. She tossed it into the box, Isis went nuts batting it around, and chasing it like it was a mouse or a ball.

Garcia took more paper and pushed it through her shredder until there was a nice pile in one corner of the box. "Sorry I don't have any kitty litter for you. You'll have to make the best of this."

Isis left the makeshift toy alone and went to sniff at the pile of shredded paper in her new home. She meowed up to Garcia and jumped right in the middle of it, making it into a bed. She meowed up at Garcia, and then settled down to sleep after kneading a spot in the middle of the nest.

"I'm glad you're comfortable. You better stay put for Daddy." Garcia admonished the cat.

---

Reid came out of the men's room on the plane and made his way to his seat next to Hotch. His heart was racing again, making his palms go sweaty. It was better just to blurt out the truth and get it over with quickly.

"Um Hotch… I should tell you something about Isis."

"Reid!"

"It's okay Emily. Um… Isis got loose in the BAU. We had to leave on the case and I didn't have a chance to look for her. Garcia said that she would find Isis for me. I just tried to call her and her phone went straight to voicemail. Her phone never goes to voicemail. I don't know what happened and I know you're upset. I promise that -"

"Reid!"

"Yes sir?"

"Stop squeaking and calm down. You should have told me about the cat before we left."

"I know sir. I'm sorry."

"We'll deal with the cat later. Right now I have Garcia looking into the background of Mr. Henry."

"She is," Reid squeaked and went crimson.

"Yes she is. If you didn't have such a guilty conscience you would have known that before you felt the need to confess about a fugitive cat in the BAU."

"Yes sir."

Hotch folded his hands over the file folder on the table. "You didn't have to be honest, but you were. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you sir."

"Get back to work."

Reid buried his head in his file while Morgan smirked at him. "Shut up Morgan."

"I didn't say anything!"

"No… but you desperately want to."

"I think the kitten's a good companion for you Reid." Rossi spoke up.

"Dave!"

"You've got that tone in your voice Aaron."

Hotch turned his scowl on his friend, "Really?"

"You don't scare me Aaron."

Hotch smiled back at him "True… Can we get back to the case now?"

"Whatever you say boss."

The laptop on the table beeped and Garcia's face appeared on the screen. "Garcia," Hotch greeted her.

"_Boss man… I have all the info you need for Mr. Henry." _

"What did you find out?"

"_Nothing that makes me think he has anything to do with his daughter's abduction. His position as a Senator for the state of South Carolina made him some enemies, but it's going to take me sometime to look at all of them. _

_He has a lot of powerful and influential friends. I don't see any of them taking the girl although I'm surprised they seem to be good friends with Strauss and her husband._

Everyone laughed until Hotch fixed them all with his scowl."I think we need to treat our Section Chief with the proper respect she deserves.

Everyone except Rossi looked away from their boss. "I'm sure we all have the proper respect for her Aaron."

"_His financial status is very good. If a ransom is demanded he could pay it with no problem unless these jerks get really greedy."_

"I'm concerned that we haven't received a ransom demand," Rossi interjected.

"_Why?" _

"Because that probably means that whoever took her, doesn't care about money. They have other plans for her," Reid said.

"_Oh… I'll take another look at everyone Mr. Henry's ever known. If it isn't a stranger, I'll find them." _

"Thanks Garcia," Hotch ended the call."

-----

Garcia's fingers could coax any computer system to give up its secrets to her. She didn't give up when the challenge seemed impossible, but there was nothing to find for Jackson Henry.

A meow distracted her from her babies and their quest for information. She activated more searches and turned to the kitten as a distraction."

"I can't find anything Isis."

She opened her desk drawer and pulled out a ball of yarn she'd been planning to turn into a baby blanket for little Henry when she had some free time.

"I wish you could understand."

The cat meowed loudly. "Yeah… I know you want attention. I guess I can take a little break. The team will be landing soon and until they find out more from the locals, I can't widen my searches any further."

Isis stood up on her hind legs and mewed softly at her new friend. "Okay… Let's play for a little while and maybe I'll think of something."

She let down one end of the yarn into the box and Isis began to bat it around as Garcia jerked it up and down like a yoyo.

"Your life is so simple." Garcia sighed. "Cats don't kidnap each other. I wish you could teach us a thing or two."

Isis ignored her new friend for the yarn. "Okay… no more talk, just play."


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: see my profile**_

_**A/n thanks to everyone that's following this story and reviewing. I appreciate it.**_

An insistent meow from an impatient Isis startled Garcia into dropping her siren red pen on the floor.

"Hey… You trying to give me a heart attack?"

The kitten was standing up on her hind legs, trying to climb out of the cardboard box that had become her temporary home till the team returned home.

"Daddy's going to be home very soon. They caught the bad man that took that little girl. She's okay and they'll be landing soon. Then you'll be able to go home."

Isis scratched at the box impatiently. "Alright… I don't blame you for being irritated." She picked up the cat and began to scratch behind her ears.

"Let me tell you a story about your Daddy. See... He can get into lots of trouble. He's kind of like a tiny kitten. You can't leave him alone or trouble always follows."

Isis meowed as if to say that she'd never get into trouble like her Daddy.

"It's true… I'll give you a couple of examples. See… There was this really bad man in Georgia who killed some people.

Isis looked up at Garcia with her green eyes and batted at Garcia's hand with one small paw. "I know… Humans don't make sense. We do stupid and terrible things to each other.

Isis meowed and stretched her neck under Garcia's fingers.

"So anyway… The team went to find the bad man. They left me here all alone as usual."

The cat lay quietly on Garcia's lap as the tech remembered a terrible time. "I never tell them, but I'm so scared every time they go away. I have to wait, and hope, they come back to me in one piece."

Isis kneaded her claws into Garcia's bright yellow skirt. She purred loudly and closed her eyes.

"This time, your daddy got kidnapped by the bad man who thought he was three different people. They sent for me to help them with the bad man's computer. The bad man was showing all of the terrible things he was doing to everyone on the internet. We had to watch him torture and -" She swallowed hard and was silent for long moments as tears ran down her face.

"Look at me, crying like a baby. It was a long time ago. I should get over it already. Anyway, Reid almost died. It was horrible. And, the bad man gave him drugs that made him very sad for a long time."

Garcia wiped her eyes and replaced her glasses on her face. "Don't worry, Reid's okay now. He still gets into a lot of trouble, but he has lots of friends here to look out for him.

Isis had gone to sleep so Garcia placed her back in the cardboard box in the middle of her shredded paper bed. The continual low grade worry that she lived with every time the team left on assignment began to retreat. They'd all be there soon and she had to put on her usual happy face to greet them.

---

Reid was the first to enter the bullpen after the group returned. He dropped his bag next to his desk and headed back out to Garcia's office.

"She's got you completely wrapped around her little paws my man," Morgan teased as the Reid hurried past his desk.

"Oh leave him alone!" Emily said as she grabbed her coffee mug.

"He's running after a tiny little kitten instead of tackling his paperwork. When have you seen him ignore reports? He's anal about it."

"So what's it to you. He's not hurting anyone."

"It's funny Emily!"

"Morgan, let me ask you a question?"

"You will whether I want you to or not."

Emily scowled at him and he laughed. "You've got Clooney at home. I know if anything every happened to that dog, you'd freak out."

"So what," Morgan said nonchalantly.

"So… Reid needs a pet. Let him be happy and back off."

"I'm glad he has a pet. I just like to tease him about it."

Emily threw up her hands. "I give up. I'm going to go get some coffee and get to work. I'd like to get home before midnight."

She stalked away from Morgan to the break room. He looked around at the empty bullpen and pulled his cell phone off his belt. He dialed the second number on his speed dial list and waited while it rang.

"Hey…" He said when his call was answered. "How's Clooney… Really? Yeah… We're back…. I need to finish up some paperwork and then I'll be there to pick him up. Yeah… I'll have to stop on the way home and get a replacement. Yeah… He's a bit spoiled. I know… I'll see you soon."

He closed his phone and looked up to see Emily standing there with a cup of steaming coffee in her hands.

"Who was that?"

"I had to break a hot date."

"Sure you did… Why don't you admit that you care as much for Clooney and Reid does for Isis?"

"Clooney is man's best friend. Isis is a cat."

"That's discrimination," Emily teased.

"No… It's the truth!"

"You're hopeless!" She sat down and began her report on the case.

---

Garcia jumped when someone knocked on her door even though she'd been expecting that knock since Morgan had called to say they'd be home soon.

"Come in…"

Reid opened the door and sidled into her office as though he were a school boy going into the Principal's office.

"Why the long face baby cakes? I don't bite."

"I thought you'd be angry that I just left you here to find Isis." He said, looking down at the tiny black kitten asleep in her box.

"No… Why would I be mad? It was fun taking care of her. And… She helped me find out something very useful about our Section Chief that might come in handy later."

Wariness came into Reid's eyes as well as healthy fear of the hard-as-nails Section Chief. "What did you do?"

"Don't take that tone with me Reid. I saved your cute ass and Isis too. She was incensed when she saw Isis. However," She held up a hand when he began to speak. "It's all good. She won't bother you about Isis again."

"But Garcia - "

"I'm sworn to secrecy."

He picked up Isis who jerked awake and meowed at him. He began massaging her head with his long fingers and she went out like a light.

"Okay… I get that you can't tell. I just don't know how you do it."

"How do I do what?"

"Look after us like you do. You don't have to care as much as you do."

Garcia took off her glasses and rubbed the lenses with end of her blouse. "I can't do this job and not care. It would break me if I had to work here without feeling."

"I'm glad you're here when we get home."

"Always, sweet thing, always," She reached over and patted him on the knee. "Now… You better get rid of this cat before Hotch -"

"Before Hotch what," A voice said from the doorway."

"Oh hi sir - um I was telling Reid that he should take Isis home."

"I agree… If Strauss sees her I can't help you."

Garcia put on her glasses. "You don't have to worry about Strauss. She knows the cat is here and she's fine with it."

"Garcia…"

"I can't tell you sir. I made a promise."

Hotch glowered at her. She flinched but stood her ground. "I can't tell you sir."

"Okay!"

"Okay?" Garcia repeated as Isis purred in her sleep. "You're not going to tell me I have to tell you what happened."

"No… I trust you Garcia. If you say you've got something to bargain with over Strauss, I'm not going to take that away from you,"

"Thank you sir."

"Now, get that cat out of here before the director sees it."

"Yes sir!"

Hotch left her office and Garcia fell back in her chair. "You owe me big time handsome."

"I know… Thanks for taking care of her."

"It was fun… She's a great little friend."

Reid leaned against her desk. He looked a little scared. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yes… I'll take care of her anytime you're out of town."

"How did you know?"

"I may not have the title of profiler, but I know you." She poked him in his side as he went pink in the cheeks.

"Thanks Garcia," He stood up straight as Isis woke and began to meow loudly. "Okay… I think someone is hungry."

"Let's go get her some more of your cream."

---

Reid gently placed his bag on the easy chair in his apartment. He reached in and took Isis out. She looked around and meowed. He placed her on the floor and she took off running like she'd been locked up all day.

"I guess you have been locked up all day. Let's go to bed."

He went to his room with Isis on his heels mewling softly as they moved through the semi-darkness. "I'm beat." Reid said.

He pulled off his clothes, tossed them into the hamper and pulled on a pair of blue pajama bottoms with a white stripe down either side. He shut the bathroom door in Isis's face and had to listen to her yowl at him while he emptied his bladder.

"Are you going to be this mad at me every time I go away?" He asked as he opened the door after washing his hands and brushing his teeth.

Isis meowed loudly as he headed to the bedroom. "I guess that's yes."

He jumped into bed and laughed when the cat tried to jump up with him. "Okay… Just one time."

He picked her up and put her on one pillow. "Don't make a habit of this. "

She batted a paw at his ear. "You're a smart ass."

She yawned and curled up to sleep. "Right… Sleeping is good."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: see my profile**

**A/n the song and lyrics mentioned in the chapter is "Devil Woman," from Cliff on you tube if you want to hear it. This is the last chapter so please enjoy! **

"I still think this is ridiculous."

Morgan leaned against his desk and surveyed the birthday decorations that festooned Reid's desk. Garcia had gone all out with balloons, streamers, and confetti. It looked like a rainbow had exploded all over his desk. It had spilled over to Emily's desk too, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Shut up and be nice." Garcia said, slugging him in the upper arm.

"Ow…"

"You're such a baby!"

"Who's a baby?" JJ said as she swept into the room with Henry in his stroller.

"Morgan is the baby. He thinks this is ridiculous."

"Where's your sense of fun?" JJ asked while helping Henry out of the stroller.

The little boy immediately went to his godmother and held out his arms. He was a year and a half old with straight blond hair and big blue eyes. He wore a little pair of jeans and a tee shirt that said, "Mommy and Daddy love Henry," across the front.

"Hey there's my tiny handsome man," Garcia cooed as she swept him up in her arms. "Oh… you're getting so big!"

"He's in the ninety-fifth percentile of growth for kids his age." Reid said, entering the bullpen with Isis in his arms.

"How would you know that kid?"

Reid flushed, but JJ beamed at him. "He's keeping a record of Henry's growth. He's trying to predict how tall he'll be when he's grown up."

"Run out of hobbies," Morgan teased.

"No!"

Reid put Isis down and the cat ran over Emily who'd come into the room from the break room with a large cup of coffee.

"Hello there, you're looking very sleek today." She said to the cat, which leaped gracefully onto Reid's chair and began to wash. "I can't believe it's been a year since you brought her in here." Emily said to Reid.

"I can," Morgan interjected.

"Be quiet!" Garcia hushed. "You don't have to hang around. It's Friday, after five and we don't have a case. Go bar hopping and leave us alone."

"No way mama… The food looks great.

He looked at the table set up under the railing to the overhead walkway. It was full of food and a birthday cake.

"Is that all you ever think about, your stomach."

"No baby girl… I got other needs."

"Don't look at me? I've got my own snuggle bunny."

Emily, Reid and JJ laughed. "She got you there." JJ said between giggles.

Isis jumped down off Reid's desk and ran to him meowing loudly. "I agree with her… It's time to eat." Morgan said.

"Saved by the meow," Emily said as Rossi and Hotch came down from their offices.

"Food looks good." Rossi said, stepping carefully over Isis.

"That's what I was trying to say." Morgan protested.

"Let's eat…" Reid said taking a package of cat treats out for Isis from his desk.

The cat was still midnight black and silky as a kitten. Her green eyes stayed glued to Reid as he fished out a couple of treats for her. Her tail swished and her nose sniffed the air.

"You look like a witch with her familiar." Rossi said as he piled pasta salad on his paper plate.

"_She's just a devil woman with evil on her mind." _JJ began to sing in a great Soprano voice.

"I know that song." Garcia commented. "Isn't it about a black cat that turns into a beautiful black-haired woman?"

"The song never says that the cat becomes a woman." Reid pointed out.

"It's implied though," JJ began to cut the cake that said "Happy Birthday Isis," in pink letters on white icing.

"Only if you squint really hard."

"JJ's right," Rossi said. "It is obliquely implied that the black cat turns into a beautiful woman with long black hair and green eyes."

"Well… We know Isis doesn't turn into a woman."

"How do you know?" Garcia said seriously. Reid went scarlet and even Hotch laughed.

"Give me a break, she's just a cat." Morgan said.

Isis looked up at Morgan, arched her back and hissed. She ran back to Reid, who picked her up and began stroking her head. She purred while staring down Morgan.

"What did I ever do to that cat?" He barked at Reid.

"Face it Morgan… Not every female falls at your feet."

"Very funny Emily!"

"Maybe you should apologize to her." Hotch suggested with twinkling eyes.

"No… I didn't do anything. She's the one that nearly clawed my leg off."

"She didn't," Reid protested.

"Alright, that's enough." Hotch said.

Reid stifled the urge to stick his tongue out at Morgan as he scratched Isis's black head.

"So Isis, you're a year old today. What are you going to do?" Garcia asked the cat.

"Garcia…"

"Shut up Morgan."

"You going to ask her if she's going to Disneyland next?"

Garcia turned and smacked him again. "No… that would be silly."

"This whole thing is silly."

"Morgan…"

"Sorry Hotch!"

Hotch took a piece of cake from JJ who was cutting it into large pieces for everyone. "Somehow this cat and our technical analyst have kept Section Chief Strauss out of our hair for the last year. I think she deserves a party."

"Isn't it a little weird?" JJ said watching Reid with Isis.

Her friend held the cat in his arms and the cat was staring at Morgan with something in her eyes that had that song playing in JJ's head again.

"What's weird," Morgan said as he took some cake.

"Well… Isis has been around for a year. Strauss hasn't bothered us at all. Reid hasn't been in any sort of life threatening jeopardy since he found the cat. It's like the bad luck of black cats, became good luck for Reid and us.

Morgan snickered… "Next you'll be saying that Isis really does turn into a woman at the full moon."

"Of course not," JJ said picking Henry up and settling him on her lap with a plate of cake. "I'm just being silly."

As she watched the cat with Reid, she wondered if it were just her imagination. The Reid turned and smiled at her. Isis jumped down and ran over to where she sat with Henry. The cat reached up and batted the child on his leg and Henry laughed. JJ relaxed… It had been a long day. The cat was perfectly normal.

---

Reid carried his messenger bag over his shoulder and Isis in his arms. His car was at the far end of the underground parking lot.

"I could have parked closer if you hadn't made me late." He scolded the cat, who dug her claws into his sleeve.

"Don't get upset, it was your fault and you know it."

He opened the passenger side door and deposited the cat and his messenger bag on the front seat. "There, we'll be home soon."

He went around to the driver's side and got in the car. He was putting on his seat belt when the cat nudged his arm. He turned to see the cat looking at him the same way she looked at big bowl of cream.

"Can't you wait till we get home?" He said.

The change was fast, but he was used to it by now. Where the cat had been sitting, there was now a beautiful woman with black hair to her waist. Her eyes were large and as green as the grass of Ireland. Her skin was the color of cream and as soft as silk.

"You made me wait this morning. I think I should punish you for that." She said and her voice was as musical as bells chiming down a country lane.

"We're in the parking garage Isis." He squeaked, but his brain was fast losing control over his body. "Someone might see."

"No one's around, baby. I sensed it when you brought me out here. Don't worry… What they don't know won't hurt them."

**_THE END_**

**_A/n thanks for indulging me with the twist at the ending. I hadn't intended it to take this supernatural turn, but Adele was prodded a bit by my beta REIDFANATIC and the words of "Devil Woman." I heard it a couple of days ago and thought it was perfect for Isis_**


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